Required Reading for Being Human
Submitted by Signifier on Tue, 10/26/2004 - 10:35
Tags:
- 1. Slaughterhouse-5 or The Children's Crusade, a Duty-Dance With Death by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
- 2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or A Savage Journey Into the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson
- 3. The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz
- 4. Rabbit, Run by John Updike
- 5. Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McArthy
- 6. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
- 7. Engines of Creation by K. Eric Drexler
- 8. Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
- 9. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
- 10. Watership Down by Richard Adams
These are random recommendations. I feel though, quite powerfully, that if you read every book on this list at least once you will be more intelligent, more open-minded, more peacible, more ready to embrace love, and more "human" - whatever that means. Getting through every book on this list (not nearly as hard as it sounds - most are not difficult, and many are available online, too) is, as far as I can tell, a guaranteed "broaden your horizons, make you happier, make you better" pill. You may say, "I have not read a single book on this list, but I am still a wonderful and perfect person." Maybe, but wouldn't you like to be even more wonderful and perfect? C'mon.